‘Pass the Rock’ traces back to two things: Psalm 18 and Earvin Magic Johnson.

 

Psalm 18: 

When a former University of Utah football player named David Cunningham was serving as a campus minister at Bellevue Community College in Washington State in 2003- he began leading me through Bible studies and presenting the Word of God in a way that captured my heart and soul. David helped me see that becoming a mighty man of God would only help my impact as a basketball player. He also helped me see that the wisdom and training gained while playing basketball can be used as tools to help in my discipleship following Christ. The first exercise we did was game day prayer & scripture reading. I would meet up with David on game days and prayer fervently, then enter the locker room and read Psalm 18 out loud becoming more amped reading through each of the 50 verses. This would become my game day routine at my next stop in college basketball (University of Missouri), while playing professionally overseas (Jerusalem), and coaching at the high school and college levels. The beginning of the Psalm 18 reads: 

“I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock…”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭18‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The idea of the Lord being our ‘Rock’ is prevalent throughout the Word- which doubles in meaning as most sports reference the ball as a ‘rock’. 

 

Over the years since I have been on the hunt for looking ways student-athletes can learn about Jesus in their experiences in sport, and ways they can implement their mentality in sport towards their discipleship following Jesus. This includes Bible studies with numerous coaches and teammates, prayer times on courts and fields, Chapels, team prayers before practices, Jesus being praised on grand platforms and after humbling losses. Over the past 20+ years we have seen hundreds of athletes and coaches merge their sport experiences with their faith and glorify God.

 

Earvin "Magic" Johnson:

The greatest point guard of all-time wore #32 with the Los Angeles Lakers and won 5 NBA titles in 12 years by passing the basketball. Magic annihilated the competition for over a decade and did it with a huge smile on his face infusing his teams, the NBA, and fans (including 9yr old me) with tremendous joy. Earvin Magic Johnson found victory in passing the rock (basketball). 

After working with current and former athletes and finding ways to incorporate faith into sport the goal of the Pass the Rock Project is to share these nuggets of spiritual wisdom with as many people as possible.